Relay for Life meeting Thursday
The 2008 St. Augustine Relay for Life event is already in full swing. Teams will be meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Prosperity Bank Community Center, 790 Ponce de Leon Blvd. This meeting is open to the public and anyone interested in Relay is welcome to attend. Refreshments will be served.

Author of 'Windrusher' to address writers group
Vic DiGenti, the award winning author of the "Windrusher" series, will present the program, "Let's Make a Scene" to the Florida Writers Association at the monthly meeting at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Main Branch Library, 1960 N. Ponce de Leon Blvd.

News & Notes
History presentation
The Friends of the Library of Flagler County along with the Florida Humanities Council presents a program by Andrew Huse, "Florida's Delicious History: A Gastronomic Journey through Modern Florida," at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Palm Coast Library Meeting Room.

Busy time for Dianthus
Members of the Dianthus Garden Center were busy this month working on items for the Christmas store featured at the Dec. 2 Christmas Tour of Homes.

'Fantasticks' opens Friday at Limelight
"The Fantasticks" opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Limelight Theatre, 11 Mission Ave. A champagne reception begins at 7 p.m.. Performances continue Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m., and for the next four weeks Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. The show closes Jan. 12. Tickets are $25. Student rush tickets $10. There will be no Terrific Tuesday performance for this production

Club directory
Monday
The St. Augustine Jazz Society holds its monthly business meeting at 7 p.m. the first Monday of each month at the new St. Augustine Beach city hall building on State Road A1A South. Call (904) 471-0418.

Wednesday event to benefit foster children
Shannon's Hope of St. Johns County, in conjunction with The Florida Department of Children and Family Services, has partnered to enhance the holidays for St. Johns County's Foster Care Children. There are nearly 400 children in foster care in St. Johns County. In order to raise funds to assist in purchasing gifts for those children. The Reef Restaurant will host a local "celebrity waiter" dinner and silent auction Wednesday at the restaurant on A1A in Vilano Beach.

Club calendar
SAR celebration
Christmas comes early to the St. Augustine Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, arriving Saturday at noon at the Le Pavillon Restaurant. This mid- December date, 232 years ago, was for George Washington and the Continental Army, their blackest hour.

Go & Do
TODAY
Family yoga class: Pa-Kua Martial Arts & Yoga, 233 W. King St., invites parents and children to a Mommy/Daddy 'N' Me yoga class at 5 p.m. The class will also be offered at the same time on Dec. 18. Call 827-0007.

Democratic women gather
Women from Arkansas, West Virginia, Tennessee and Florida gathered recently in Jacksonville for the Southern Region of the National Federation Of Democratic Women.

Go & Do
TODAY
Black history tours: Listen to a live, streaming narrative from licensed tour guide Howard E. Lewis during this tour of historic Black landmarks in St. Augustine. Topics will include Fort Mose, Castillo de San Marco, "Little Africa," significant sites of the civil rights movement and more. Call 823-2085 to book a private or group tour.

National Report: Storm ices roads from southern Plains to Northeast
OKLAHOMA CITY A wintry storm caked the center of the nation with a thick layer of ice Monday, blacking out more than 600,000 homes and businesses, and more icy weather was on the way. At least 15 deaths in Oklahoma and Missouri were blamed on the conditions, with 13 of them killed on slick highways.

National report
Ice storm grounds airliners, blamed for 5 deaths
ST. LOUIS -- An ice storm slickened roads and sidewalks, grounded hundreds of flights, and cut power to tens of thousands Sunday in a swath from the Southern Plains to the Great Lakes as even colder weather threatened.

Colorado church shootings kill 4
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- A gunman killed two staff members at a missionary training center near Denver early Sunday after being told he couldn't spend the night. About 12 hours later, a gunman fatally shot a person at a megachurch in Colorado Springs before a guard killed him, police said.

Several states feel pinch on federal home heating aid
WASHINGTON -- Matilda Winslow counts on home heating assistance to survive New England's harsh winters. The 75-year-old widow gets by on a monthly $860 Social Security check, but she can't keep up with heating oil costs that top $3 per gallon.

Gore urges humans to 'make peace' with planet
OSLO, Norway -- Saying it's "time to make peace with the planet," Al Gore accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on Monday with a call for humanity to rise up against a looming climate crisis and stop waging war on the environment.

'They were after our convoys. We were after them.'
Against considerable odds, Richard Nordby and his World War II shipmates pulled off a dangerous maneuver that hadn't been accomplished since the War of 1812.
They seized an intact enemy warship in battle.

Carriage driver hurt in hit/run accident
Police are looking for the driver of a car that rammed the back of a horse and carriage in St. Augustine, causing the horse to run loose and injuring the carriage driver.

Drug sweep results in 20 arrests
West Augustine is going to be a safer place this morning following the arrest Monday of 20 people described as mid- and street-level drug dealers, said St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar.

Gift from 'angel' benefits shelter
A nearly $60,000 donation to the St. Francis House homeless shelter is "a wonderful beginning" to relocating the agency from downtown St. Augustine, says the director.

New council to cope with art vendors
The St. Augustine City Commission took steps Monday to create a city cultural council, whose members could possibly determine if artists should be allowed in the downtown plaza.

Search continues for missing man
Searchers continued searching Monday to recover the body of Cesar Martin Montano, 27, who fell off his sailboat and disappeared into the St. Johns River just south of the Shands Bridge near Jacksonville on Friday.

Police report: Motorcyclist hit by a vehicle
ST. AUGUSTINE
Motorcyclist hit by a vehicle: A motorcyclist was hit by a vehicle in the 200 block of San Marco Avenue about 3 p.m. Sunday, said Jeremy Robshaw, St. Johns Fire Rescue spokesman. Fire Rescue had an air ambulance on standby, but the woman's condition was not as serious as first thought, and she was taken to Flagler Hospital instead, Robshaw said.

Police Report
The following was compiled from police reports collected from the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office (SJCSO), St. Augustine Police Department (SAPD) and St. Augustine Beach Police Department (SABPD):

For The Record
Public meeting to protest new park
The Lincolnville Neighborhood Association announces a public meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at St. Paul's AME Church, 85 M.L. King Boulevard, concerning the new city park proposed at the south end of Riberia Street.

John James Boski, Jr.
John James Boski, Jr. 65, of St. Johns died Dec. 8, 2007, at his home. Mr. Boski was a native of Norwalk, Conn., and had lived in St. Johns 1 years. Mr. Boski was an explosive engineer for Ensign Bickford, which held contracts with NASA, and he served his country during the Vietnam War. He was of the Catholic faith.

Joyce Carmela Hanlon
Joyce Carmela Hanlon, 80, of St. Augustine, died Nov. 29, 2007, at Bayview-Samantha Wilson Care Center. Mrs. Hanlon was a native of Syracuse, N.Y., and had resided in St. Augustine for the past nine years. Mrs. Hanlon was a retired administrative assistant for RE Dietz Manufacturing Co. She was of the Catholic faith.

Garry Flanary
Garry Flanary, 25, of St. Augustine, died Saturday, Dec. 8, 2007, at the Earl B. Hadlow Center for Caring in Jacksonville. He was a lifelong St. Augustine resident.

Robert J. Wehking
Robert J. Wehking, 69, of St. Augustine, died Dec. 6 at the Earl B. Hadlow Center for Caring in Jacksonville after a battle with cancer.

Alexander Peter Metrakos
Alexander Peter Metrakos, 61, of St. Augustine, died Dec. 8, 2007, at Flagler Hospital. Mr. Metrakos was a native of and had resided in St. Augustine. Mr. Metrakos was a disabled veteran having served his country in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was a member of the Greek Orthodox faith.

Jeanne C. Earle
Jeanne C. Earle, 77, of St. Augustine, died Dec. 7, 2007. She was born in Atlanta, and moved to the Mandarin and Switzerland area in 1951. She was a member of the B.P.O.E. Lodge 1892 in Green Cove Springs and had many friends in the area.

Gloria Muniz O'Connell
Gloria Muniz O'Connell, 79, of Keystone Heights, died Nov. 22, 2007, at the Haven Hospice Roberts Care Center in Palatka. Mrs. O'Connell was a native of Spain, born Dec. 14, 1927, and came to the United States in 1959 from Cuba. Mrs. O'Connell earned a B.A. degree in accounting from the University of Havana and was employed as a property manager for National Hud Property Inc. in Gainesville and was a communicant of St. William Catholic Church in Keystone Heights. She was a member of the Ladies of the Knights of Columbus, past president of the Ladies Guild at St. William Catholic Church, recording secretary for the St. Augustine Deanary and past president of the Keystone Heights Woman's Club.

Robert William Gronberg
Robert William Gronberg, 77, of St. Augustine, died Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007, at Flagler Hospital.

Willie Thomas Sweat
Willie Thomas Sweat, 73, of Palatka, died Dec. 9, 2007, at Putnam Community Medical Center following a brief illness. Mr. Sweat was a native of Sumner, Ga., raised in Hastings and had resided in Palatka for the past 32 years, coming from Seaford, Del. Mr. Sweat was a veteran of the U.S. Army having served his country during the Korean War. He was a retired truck driver and he was of the Baptist faith.

Editorial: Your documents, please, Mr. Dobbs
Truth matters. History and context count. "You're entitled to your own opinions. You're not entitled to your own facts," the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously observed. CNN's Lou Dobbs has migrated to a pre-eminent position in the debate on immigration in the U.S. Since he identifies himself as a journalist, he has a special responsibility to rely on facts and to correct misstatements of fact. CNN, which purports to be a news organization, touting itself as the "Most Trusted Name in News," has an equally strong obligation to its audience to tell the truth.

Letter: Skepticism OK in debate over evolution
Editor: While religion should not be taught in the classroom, especially in a science curriculum, I don't not see why proponents of evolution get all in a huff when a healthy dose of skepticism is directed at certain evolutionary ideas. Science and skepticism are not diametrically opposed. There are various scientifically valid reasons why the jury is still out on evolution as being more than just "change over time."

Perspective: Mormonism irrelevant to campaign
When Mitt Romney's father ran for the presidency 40 years ago, his Mormonism was not an issue. When Mo Udall was a major challenger for the Democratic nomination in 1976, his religion was so irrelevant that today most people don't even remember that Udall was a Mormon.

Letter: CNN award honors today's real heroes
Editor: CNN viewers, who saw "Heroes" on Dec. 6 or the successive repeats, were treated to a unique, uplifting, feature production devoid of daily human misery and degradation. This program confirms to skeptics and believers alike, that there is a beautiful side of life that artificial ratings have obscured or kept out of our reach.

Commissioner defends C.R. 210 moratorium
Recently a St. Johns County Commission candidate attacked my proposal for a development moratorium in the County Road 210 corridor. I would like to explain why this moratorium is necessary, and what it can do.

Perspective: A big dent in Bush's credibility
Near the close of President Bush's news conference Tuesday, he brushed aside a question on whether the latest National Intelligence Estimate saying Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program four years ago had created a "credibility gap" for him.

Patriots-Steelers draw big ratings
On Sunday, they faced the Steelers, considered a team that could derail their march toward an undefeated record. The 4:15 game on CBS which was Pittsburgh-New England in most of the country earned an 18.4 overnight rating and a 33 share in the nation's 55 largest markets.

Vick gets 23 months in prison
RICHMOND, Va. -- Michael Vick was sentenced to prison Monday for running a dogfighting operation and will stay there longer than two co-defendants, up to 23 months, because he lied about his involvement when he was supposed to be coming clean to the judge who would decide his fate.

Taylor Made
JACKSONVILLE -- Fred Taylor started left, cut back right, then outran everyone. Instead of turning his head to check for defenders, he tried something new: He looked up at the huge video screen in the end zone.
Even Taylor was impressed.
"It was sweet," he said.

NBA: Magic fall to Atlanta, 98-87
ORLANDO -- Josh Smith had 25 points and a season-high 16 rebounds and Joe Johnson scored 24 points as Atlanta won its third straight, 98-87 over Orlando on Monday night.

Roundup
MNF: Saints hammer Falcons, 34-14
ATLANTA The Falcons awoke to news of their disgraced quarterback being sentenced to nearly two years in prison for dogfighting.

Roundup
Vick to be sentenced in dogfighting case today
RICHMOND, Va. -- How much, if any, will Michael Vick's role as financier of a brutal dogfighting ring hurt him? What about his use of drugs while awaiting sentencing?

NHL: Capitals hand Devils a loss
WASHINGTON -- Jeff Schultz scored 53 seconds into the second period, lifting the Washington Capitals to a 3-2 victory over New Jersey on Monday night and snapping the Devils' point streak at 10 games.

System could become tropical storm
MIAMI -- A system off Puerto Rico has the potential to become a tropical or subtropical storm, forecasters said Sunday, a little more than a week after the Atlantic hurricane season ended.

Residents win lawsuit over downed citrus trees
WEST PALM BEACH -- The state owes fair compensation to nearly 41,000 Palm Beach County residents who had their citrus trees cut down during a failed decade-long effort to eradicate a harmful bacteria, a judge ruled.

Shuttle launch postponed
CAPE CANAVERAL -- NASA on Sunday delayed the launch of space shuttle Atlantis until January after a gauge in the fuel tank failed for the second time in four days.

Search continues for crash victims
POMPANO BEACH -- Rescue crews continued Sunday searching for bodies of two pilots presumed dead after their small planes collided and crashed into the Everglades.

One 'Fantasy' winner
TALLAHASSEE (AP) -- One winner of the "Fantasy 5" game will collect $281,819.45, the Florida Lottery said Sunday.

Reward offered in slayings
LAKE ALFRED -- A $12,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of a gunman who shot and killed two gas station workers as they were changing the gas price marquee at a BP station.

14 arrested in Operation "Pickled"
Fourteen out of twenty-three people were arrested today during the final phase of Operation "Pickled". Detectives with the
Sheriff's Office Special Investigations Unit along with the St. Augustine Police Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (D.E.A.) began rounding up individuals on arrest warrants this morning shortly before 7:00 a.m.

World report
Bomber strikes bus carrying children in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- A suicide bomber struck a bus carrying children at a military base in northwestern Pakistan Monday (late Sunday EST), injuring at least five, an army spokesman said. The attack occurred at the army's base at Kamra, and the injured children were being transported to a hospital, Maj. Gen. Arshad Waheed said.

World Report: Putin backs longtime aide as successor
MOSCOW President Vladimir Putin's endorsement of longtime aide Dmitry Medvedev as his successor Monday amounts to an anointment that almost certainly will put the Russian presidency in the hands of a young, trusted ally seen as liberal on economic issues but loyal enough to ensure a pliant Kremlin for the outgoing leader.